I never owned a ‘70 Challenger, but it filled my dreams as a teenage boy. The Challenger and the Hemi-Cuda (from Plymouth) were two dream rides that call my name to this day. They were the epitome of loud and fast, and everyone I knew wanted one.

The ‘70 Challenger was available with a 426ci Hemi which in today’s parlance would equate to ~7-liters. It was rated at 425HP in the stock configuration, but was easily pushed way beyond that number. Can you believe the other aspect of the Challenger was its small price (without Hemi, of course). Here is an original commercial from 1970.

When Chrysler Corporation announced they were bringing the Dodge Challenger back into production, I was thrilled. With the re-introduction of the Mustang Cobra GT500 and General Motors plans for the new ‘09 Camaro, I feel the tingle building again.

The new Dodge Challenger has a 6.1 (370ci) liter Hemi-designed engine pushing the same 425HP as the old 426ci from 1970 was. And this new Challenger includes brakes that will stop the car. That was something missing from the old muscle cars. ALL GO … NO SLOW!

Last week was birthday present time for the Granddaughter, so I headed to the toy section of the local big box store. I never pass up the chance to check out the big boy toys, and on this trip, I hit pay dirt.

Hot Wheels has outdone themselves again. Taking the concept design for the new, yet to be introduced, 2009 Camaro, Mattel built a great looking radio control version.

The package says ‘06 Camaro, but the styling is definitely from the 2009 concept Camaro Chevrolet is prancing around the auto shows.

These larger Hot Wheel RC models are new to me, but they are great replicas of the full-size vehicles. I guess I’ve been out of the loop too long.

The other car catching my attention was the Dodge Challenger. The box indicates the design is from the concept car Dodge is introducing later this year. The new Challenger will feature a new mini-Hemi and by what I’ve read, be a real screamer.

Not only am I excited about these concept cars becoming real later this year and next—I’m excited about these RC cars.

BTW, I didn’t get one of these for the GD, but opted for a slightly more girly present. Maybe next year …

Bad news coming from Earthlink, announcing they are selling their Muni WiFi division. I’ve written on Business Unusual many times about the problems surrounding the business model they were pursuing, but they never asked for my opinion. Pity …

FT.com /EarthLink to sell ‘Muni’ WiFi business
EarthLink, the internet service provider, is to sell its citywide ‘Muni’ WiFi wireless broadband internet access business as part of its plans to return to profit after six straight quarterly losses.

The worst part about this situation is that Earthlink still doesn’t get it. Look at this quote from the story given by the new CEO of Earthlink, Rolla Huff.

Mr Huff said, “It quickly became evident that we would have a really difficult time changing the perception by some of the cities that we owed them a free network rather than the city stepping up to make the business model viable …

Did you get that? It was the city’s fault that Earthlink’s business model didn’t work. Blaming others for your lack of a valid business knowledge and inappropriate technology shows a total lack of understanding.

So let me get this straight,

Earthlink requested RFPs (request for proposal) from the cities

Earthlink proposed offering free service to the cities in exchange for exclusive wireless rights

Earthlink proposed offering free service in exchange for exclusive access to utility poles

Earthlink proposed paying for it by selling bandwidth to retailers at cheap wholesale prices

One technology topic I haven’t written about is security. Although I have a good working knowledge of the subject, there are many fantastic experts that freely share their advice on their own blogs and websites.

In selling technology to businesses, I always caution against using inexpensive wireless access points for a number of reasons. This video demonstrates how vulnerable a WEP secured wireless router really is to someone with a laptop and some software downloaded from the Internet.

Philadelphia is joining the chorus of Earthlink-bashers after being ‘dissed for a scheduled meeting. Bad business decisions by their Muni-Wifi division makes recovery difficult.

Earthlink recently wrote a check to the City of Houston for $5 million dollars for failure to meet deadlines, leaving the project’s future questionable for some. Now it appears they may be walking away from the largest project, Philadelphia, after much re-thinking on their business model.

That rumored buyout never happened, of course, but evidence is mounting that company officials still regard it as an option. Enter the City of Brotherly Love where, according to various leaders, Earthlink actually ditched a scheduled meeting this week on a network they’ve invested approximately $20 million in. That’s ditched as in didn’t even bother to call Frank Rizzo!

According to an AP story, Earthlink instead sent an unsigned statement to council members explaining that it was “not yet able to provide complete answers” about the network’s future. Needless to say this displeased members of the council.

I’ve been against the net-neutrality movement from the beginning, stating my mistrust of any government involvement in a free and open Internet. It goes hand-in-hand with my views on Muni-Wifi, where my experience with wireless technology and business showed no viable business model long before Earthlink started to re-think their position.

Today on c|net’s News.com, Larry Downes covers the subject in a more eloquent manner than I ever have, using the rail and air industry as examples of the failed government regulating ability (my favorite is the cable industry).

Save Internet freedom–from regulation | Perspectives | CNET News.com Proponents of Net neutrality–some of whom have led the battles against other forms of network regulation–argue that this law is different. Mandating Net neutrality is simple, fair, and preserves the very features of the Internet that make it so valuable. Indeed, the Senates version of Net neutrality legislation carries the lofty title of Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

The problem with “simple” regulations is that they never are–especially when the industry being regulated, thanks to new technologies, is evolving rapidly.

Who could be against preserving freedom? But the information superhighway to hell is surely paved with good intentions.

Thats the lesson of Americas first misadventure in enforcing “neutrality” on a key piece of national infrastructure: the railroads.

Downes has the credentials (nonresident fellow at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society) to back up his examination of how the government has done everything but keep their charges neutral. In fact, innovation and cheaper prices didn’t come about until the government agencies were dissolved and the free-market took over.

I know this issue will not be settled until a look into the past shows Larry and me to be prophets, but we will continue to herald the truth.

Okay, so the title doesn’t make a lot of sense, but as a former backhoe operator, I know how difficult this must be. The steering gets squirrelly at any speed over 10mph. Obviously a few modifications have been made to this backhoe, but it’s still cool. And check out the wheelie bars.

With the previous Bullitt Mustang video I mentioned it was too short and didn’t take place on the hills of San Francisco. Well, this video still doesn’t take place on the streets of San Francisco, but is just over five minutes long.

Popular Mechanics provides lots of video of the car and talks to the Chief Engineer on the project. This video also has lots of information from the engineering viewpoint. I can’t embed the video, so you will just have to follow the link.

Ford announced another Special Edition Mustang last week. This one is a remake of the Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt. The video is too short and wasn’t filmed on the streets of San Francisco, but the ‘Stang looks remarkable like the original … if you squint.

Google started releasing their feed numbers yesterday, and by today, we have a list of the top blogs subscribed on Google Reader. The list at Tech Crunch shows sixty-three blogs, and I’m a little disappointed for a couple of reasons.

First, None of my blogs are on the list.

Second, I read two blogs listed out of the sixty-three. It’s like the TV ratings each week. I look at the top ten list and wonder who is watching these crummy show, cause I’m not. Of course, I don’t know if that says something about me … or them.

Top Blogs On Google Reader
So Google recently made it fairly easy to determine the number of Google Reader subscribers around a particular blog. Gabe Rivera at Techmeme did a little work on excel and came up with an unofficial list of the top blogs and the number of subscribers each blog has on Google Reader. He sent the list around to people for comments - with his permission we’ve published it below.